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TIME TO KILL IT, GIRLS
Top seeds Colgan and Patriot are among nine Prince William County volleyball teams in this week’s regional playoffs. Also making it in the Class 6 Occoquan Region are Forest Park, Woodbridge and Hylton, with Battlefield, Stonewall Jackson and Osbourn Park dueling in the Northern Region. Manassas Park made it in Class 3.
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Gainesville / Prince William Times | October 31, 2018
BOWSER
POWER Sharks sweep Forest Park, roar into regionals as a top seed
“That’s just a quick-twitch hopper.”
Colgan coach Keith Mesa talking about Texas A&M-bound star Madison Bowser
By Jeff Malmgren Times Staff Writer
Not even blocking balls hit by Madison Bowser is an effective way to keep her from scoring. Twice during the first set Thursday, the Forest Park Bruins rejected a ball hit by Bowser, Colgan’s senior middle hitter and Texas A&M University recruit. Both times, Bowser reacted so quickly that she immediately hit the blocked-ball back over the net for a kill before the Bruins could re-form their block. And that sequence set the tone for the Sharks’ 25-13, 25-15, 25-23 win, which gave them the Cardinal District tournament championship. “That’s just a quick-twitch hopper,” Colgan coach Keith Mesa said of Bowser. “And that’s not trained, that is born. … She just gets off the floor as quickly on her second jump as she does on her first jump.” The top-seeded Sharks improved to 22-3 with an 18-game winning streak while dropping the Bruins to 15-7. The Sharks next play Thursday in the second round of the Class 6 Region C tournament against either T.C. Williams or Woodbridge. Forest Park hosted West Springfield in the first round on Tuesday. Against the Bruins, Bowser finished with a game-high 18 kills with 16 coming from sets by junior Krisitn Lough, who finished with 31 assists.
PHOTO BY RANDY LITZINGER
Seeded No. 1 in the Occoquan Region, the Colgan Sharks (22-3) begin regional play Thursday at home against either T.C. Williams or Woodbridge. Colgan beat Forest Park for the Cardinal District tournament title last week. Forest Park opened regional play Tuesday. “I love setting [for] Madison,” Lough said. “It’s amazing. … She’s made me the player that I am today. If it wasn’t for her, I don’t know where I’d be.” Lough sets the ball to Bowser in a variety of positions, but her quick-set near the center of the net is particularly devastating. “If there’s not a block up, I feel really bad” for players in the opponent’s back row, Lough said. “I’m worried that they might get a concussion.” Colgan’s Hannah Crawley had eight kills with Testimony Garrison producing six to give the Sharks hope for a state berth. “I think we have a lot of potential,” Lough said. “If we keep working like we are, we’ll get there.” Mesa agreed, but knows it won’t be easy. “When you get into regional playoffs, it’s whoever plays well on any given night,” he said. “Everybody can have a bad night and everybody can have a great night. We’re just hoping we’re going to have great ones.” Forest Park also advanced to the region tour-
nament along with Cardinal District semifinalists Woodbridge and Hylton. At 15-7, Forest Park lost only four matches to teams not named Colgan, so they have legitimate hopes to vie for a region championship, especially after losing their third set Thursday against the Sharks by only two points. “If we play how we just finished this match, then we have a lot of potential,” Forest Park coach Anna Davila said. “Maybe see Colgan again and go pretty far in the regional tournament.” Davila said her girls are playing well at the right time. “Really started clicking, coming together, playing as a team,” Davila said. “Their total effort all across the board, I’m just really proud of.“ Forest Park built a third-set lead despite playing without setter Morgan Gibbs, an NCAA Division II recruit who led the Bruins in assists and kills before suffering an injury more than two weeks ago. With Gibbs in their lineup, the Bruins pushed Colgan to five sets Sept. 20, eventually losing 3-2.
Seigel leads Tigers to Northwestern District Class 3 cross country crown By Jeff Malmgren Times Staff Writer
PHOTO BY RANDY LITZINGER
Emily Lerch (left) and Sarah James (middle) helped Brentsville repeat as Northwestern District Class 3 champs. The region meet is Wednesday at Culpeper High.
Brentsville’s girls won a seventh consecutive district-level cross country championship by capturing the Class 3 Northwestern District title on the Third Battle of Winchester course in Winchester on Oct. 24. The Tiger girls won the Northwestern championship last season after claiming similar titles at the 2016 and 2015 Conference 28 meets, the 2014 and 2013 Conference 27 meets and the 2012 Evergreen District meet. The Tigers last fell short of winning a title in 2011, placing second in the Evergreen District meet. The Tigers had five runners in the top 11 this season. Abigail Seigel led Brentsville with a third-place finish
in 19 minutes, 48.2 seconds. Sarah James (19:58.8) was fifth, Meredith Crockett (20:02) sixth and Kendal Vasquez (20:32.7) seventh. Rachel Simmons rounded out the Tigers’ team score by placing 11th (20.54.1). Skyline’s Carrie Hotek and Sabrina Wilkins finished first and second individually.
Tigers also win boys crown
Brentsville also won the Northwestern boys championship for the second consecutive season, beating runner-up Warren County 30-43. For Brentsville’s boys, Andrew Broemmel finished third (17:13.1) with William Sawyer fourth (17:17.4), Sam Llaneza fifth (17:19.4), Andrew Ryder eighth (17:28.6) and Patrick Broemmel 10th (17:33).
